Mortgage Dilemma

trevita

I am new to this site and have a dilemma with my mortgage that I hope some one may be able to help with.

At the end of Sept, I will be coming to the end of my 2 yr discount period with Halifax for my repayment mortgage of approx 74k. I was previously on a rate of 3.99% but now the alternatives they are offering me are frankly dire. The best they can offer is a 3 year 5.55% tracker mortgage which means that my monthly payments would increase from GBP 454 to 519, an extra 65 quid a month!! What they are offering doesn´t seem fair. I feel like they have me over a barrel and I would go elswhere, only I´m not in a position to do so really because I would like to take a year out to study and have been travelling for the last 8 months and so do not have a regular income. I have been renting out my flat and intend to continue doing so, and I´m afraid that a buy-to-let mortgage would be too expensive.

What are my options? Is it worth renegotiating with Halifax to get a better rate? They do offer 4.45% but only to new customers. Is there a cheaper buy-to-let mortgage which would mean my monthly payements would stay the same? I am also interested in a mortgage which would let me make an extra payment of more than 10 % and not fine me for it.

Any advice would be most gratefully received!!

Best wishes
Isabel

herbiesjp

You should either get consent to let from Halifax, or get a BTL deal from a different lender

MarkyMarkD

Either way you are going to have to pay a lot more than 3.99%. 5.55% is not a good rate for Halifax to offer you, but they don't as a matter of policy let existing customers have new customer products - hence the Nationwide adverts on the TV which are basically having a go at Halifax and Abbey who both operate this policy.

But in circumstances where you don't have enough income to get another residential mortgage, your options are rather limited.

No way will you get a BTL mortgage at 3.99%, so you are going to face an increase in outgoings whatever happens.

Somehow I suspect that your existing 2 year deal was a fixed rate, not a discount. Correct me if I'm wrong!

hoskins

It would do no harm to get back to Halifax and ask for their lower interest rate, the worst they can do is say no

MarkyMarkD

It would do no harm, but it would do no good either. Halifax will just say "goodbye" if you don't want to take their (not best buy) existing borrower rates.